In a groundbreaking decision, students at New York City’s New School have voted to withdraw financial support from the campus’s Hillel chapter. This unprecedented action has drawn criticism, with detractors describing it as an attempt to undermine Jewish presence on campus.
Located in Greenwich Village, the college has become the first in the nation to sever financial ties with Hillel, basing its decision on unsubstantiated claims that the organization is linked to “grave violations of international law.”
The decision was made by the student senate, comprising 22 members, who voted on Friday to label Hillel as “not in good standing.” They justified their decision by pointing to the chapter’s association with the Israeli Defense Forces through organized student trips to Israel.
Hillel is an international network that fosters Jewish life across 850 college campuses in the United States, providing a space for Jewish students to connect, engage in religious practices, and celebrate cultural holidays.
A report spanning 38 pages from the student government claimed that Hillel’s involvement in programs facilitating student volunteer work on Israeli military bases implicates the entire student body, as student fees fund all campus organizations.
“Continuing to fund Hillel at the New School would mean using your student fees to support violations of international law,” the statement read. “Our shared values compel us to enforce our policies until Hillel commits to respecting and adhering to international law.”
City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, chair of the higher education caucus and co-chair of the Jewish caucus, called the Friday vote “despicable.”
“This is a direct attack on Jewish life on campus,” he wrote Saturday on X. “The New School must not allow the student senate to be weaponized to target their Jewish population.”
Jewish alum were aghast by the vote.
“As a Jewish alumni I am ashamed to have been a part of your school,” wrote Nicole Mardkha on Instagram. “Universities should support all student communities equally which you clearly do not. I hear the school has trouble with enrollment of new students… wonder why! Goodluck with donations and enrollment. Jokes on you.”
The report also complained that Hillel, through its participation in the Birthright Israel program, allows students to tour and participate in recreational activities in occupied territories, including jeeping in the Golan Heights.
The private university is the first school to cut ties with its Hillel chapter, but there’s been calls at other schools to stop funding since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
In 2024, Baruch College’s Hillel was protested with a “Rally against Hillel” in front of the Gramercy Park building, with organizers parroting leftist talking points such as “Hillel stands with Genocide.”
Students at Hunter College, the University of Pittsburg, Drexel University in Philadelphia and the University of California in Santa Cruz have made similar demands to boycott Hillel.
Hillel and the New School did not return requests for comments.
